A balloon filled with pure helium is sufficient to lift a very tiny camera. The new diluted helium will be less effective.

The helium debate has reignited. One major manufacturer has announced that all their “balloon helium” will now be supplied as an 80/20 helium-air mixture. As helium has been a principal method of choice in rational self-euthanasia for several years, this will distress many people. Great peace of mind results from knowing that one can eventually, near the end of one’s life, choose the exact time and manner of one’s departure. More and more people want to have control over their last moments. Simply knowing when enough is enough, and that after a wonderful life the final curtain should occur with dignity and a sense of decorum, is a great reassurance.

[readers please note: this article does NOT give instructions on how to commit suicide]

Changes of policy by balloon gas suppliers will not affect persons who have already purchased (older) tanks. Neither should it unduly worry Exit members, who have assimilated material from our books and workshops empowering them with several differentmethods for handling an unknown future. As fast as intelligent, responsible individuals make provisions for their own self-determination: in life, and at the end of life, so will unexpected circumstances, unexpected mental and physical deterioration, or changes in governmental and company policies attempt to rob them of that very right to self-determination.

We have noted previously, mostly in reports from other countries, especially India (or in isolated cases in the U.S.A.), unscrupulous retailers tampering with, or refilling canisters to be sold as “balloon helium gas” while cutting corners. (It saves them money, for one thing.) Now, that process has been formalised. It has been given a respectable stamp by Balloon Time, one of the world’s leading suppliers of domestic market helium canisters. Whether they do so out of greed, or to save the planet, or to appease lobbyists, makes little difference. Eighty per cent helium is enough to float a balloon: though not as well as one filled with 100 per cent helium. Clearly commercial helium users, such as those that mount big public displays, are likely prefer helium that is helium, rather than a diluted substitute.

Helium has a lifting capacity of about .84 ounces per cubic foot. A half-helium 12-inch balloon can lift about .22 ounces. Since a 12-inch balloon weighs less than this amount, a half-helium balloon will still float, though not as well as a completely filled one, and it will deflate faster.

Balloon Time, a major supplier, has issued a statement to say that in the future all of their “balloon gas” will be diluted with 20 per cent air. “Our helium is rated from 98-99.99 percent pure. However, due to global helium supply issues, we are now mixing helium with air. All tanks will have 80 percent or more helium. This allows us to deliver a quality product at an affordable price.” It is not known yet whether companies like BOC, another major gas suppliers, will follow suit. BOC have recently introduced a new style of disposable helium canister. A 2003 BOC safety sheet from the KentGas website lists the contents of their balloon gas as ‘helium and air’ although this is probably to distinguish the contents from medical grade helium (rather than suggest dilution). Certainly many people have successfully used helium, painlessly and peacefully, since 2003! Also, on another gas supplier’s website, we noted that the data sheet lists contents as “100 per cent helium,” adding that “concentration is nominal.” Balloon Time however supplies many UK and USA companies, including the Tesco chain of supermarkets.

Self-euthanasia with a ‘helium hood’ is based on a principle of displacing air with inert gas (developed in the first instance probably by Bruce Dunn in our 1995 collaboration, Beyond Final Exit, on at least one occasion by Dr. Kevorkian, on one or two occasions by Dignitas and Switzerland, and then Derek Humphry and most right-to-die groups as a ‘best method.’). Both scientifically, and by numerous carefully-controlled eye-witness accounts, death by pure helium is peaceful. More peaceful than many ways that some persons may now even resort to as the “helium method” appears to lose some of its standing. Yet almost any inert gas will do: there is very little difference. Nitrogen, a popular alternative, produces exactly the same effect. These gases are inert: they have no chemical reaction with the body. At most there could be a minute biological reaction: but the cause of death in all cases is simple and sudden lack of oxygen to the brain.

As you can see from the links, a testing machine is available but very expensive. The tanks are supposedly marked “helium-air”. (Not O2, which would be more costly.) So be wary of Balloon Time tanks and avoid any that are marked helium-air.

Food grade nitrogen is 99 per cent as you can see on the data spec sheets from the gas producers, and that is more than sufficiently pure.

I’m editing “The Exit Path” just now. The new version should be available I hope this month. There’s an extra 20 pages so far on nitrogen and it will probably round out to quite a lot more. There’s a limit, of course, to how much detail really ought to go on the Blog: after all, do you want to send out warnings to all the gas suppliers? Exit print subscribers will receive a series of articles in our print magazine, but I hope the Blog has at least alerted people to what is happening and that it’s not the end of the world!

To clarify, only Balloon Time (manufactured by Worthington) have officially changed their policy to a helium ‘mix.’ Balloon Time canisters are easily recognised since they are bright pink in colour. The other party balloon kits, known as ‘Balloon Occasion’ are a dull beige colour and are manufactured by BOC. their data sheets still specify their balloon gas at the original, unmixed purity.

Exit euthanasia blog analyses end of life issues, euthanasia, self-deliverance and assisted suicide. .........................................................
Exit does not give you a "quick answer": it gives you a responsible one, based on multidisciplinary study and embodying the latest research from around the world since 1980.
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Please note the blog does *not* include detailed "how-to" information on methods of self-euthanasia or rational suicide. (see "About Exit" on the main menu.) But we publish the most extensive, scientifically supported and detailed information from any source you are likely to find.

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“Five Last Acts, at over 400 pages, marks what may be the most comprehensive guide to self-deliverance techniques available.”

Use of helium, drugs, compression, plastic bags, starvation and other means, as well as other key resources including authoritative information on the legal position. It's comprehensive analysis and step-by-step explanation of methods of self-deliverance is far-reaching and probably unrivalled, both for the individual seeking peace of mind and for other researchers in the area.

Main link (Amazon U.S.):
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The complete reference, over 800 pages, The Exit Path, is also available. Please click the image below to order, or see the Publications page at the top menu.

For even more: Five Last Acts – The Exit Path (2015 edition)

● Five Last Acts: The Exit Path 2015. ● 822 pages. ● The world's first and most authoritative book to include self-euthanasia with nitrogen ● over 100 illustrations and ‘how-to‘ diagrams. ● Over 1000 references. ● tables & charts ● Tips and checklists ● scientific evidence. "This is quite a tome! But for a very detailed and clear examination of all the background to the technical intricacies of the movement for the right to choose to die it is in a class on its own. This book is for the science-minded DIY person. A most unusual book." – Derek Humphry

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The first purpose of this blog is to update our members and supporters. We'll also post some news stories of interest. Anyone can join, read the posts, and send comments or questions on specific stories.

The most extensive volume on self-deliverance ever published, Five Last Acts: The Exit Path covers every method in encyclopedic detail, answering questions on different approaches for researchers and lay-persons alike. The Exit Path contains all the material from Five Last Acts II plus new and exclusive material.

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Who are EXIT?

Exit was formed in 1980 with the specific purpose of researching and making available reliable information on how to end one's life if faced with unbearable and unrelievable suffering. There are many excellent groups that use the name Exit worldwide - and although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we would point out that they are not connected to us. We believe the best information you can obtain on self-deliverance is from our books, newsletters and workshops - you will not find those produced by other groups to be the same.
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When it all comes to an end

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